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He stood and she followed his movements with eyes that were huge with her hurt.
‘Not all of it.’ The words were deep and sensual and should have been a warning.
But Skye was too upset to use her brain, so she glared at him angrily and prompted, ‘No? You’re saying you did feel something for me?’
‘Oh yes, cara. I felt something for you. You cannot fake what we shared.’
And the penny dropped with insulting clarity. ‘For God’s sake, Matteo.’ She spun away from him, moving across the room, staring out at the water beneath them. But her heart was beating at triple speed and blood gushed through her body so fast, so loudly, that she could hear its demanding torrent inside her ears.
He came to stand behind her, his words whispered into her ear. ‘I hadn’t expected you to be innocent.’
Skye’s eyes dropped shut. That night—that beautiful night! How tainted it was now by the knowledge she was forced to overlay on the experience. It hadn’t been special and wonderful; it had been fraudulent. A deception. A lie.
‘Yeah, well, I was. Innocent and stupid.’
‘Why were you stupid?’
She swallowed and shook her head. But it was a mistake. He was still so close that the simple gesture brought her cheek against his chest. She moved away, a small sound of protest on her lips.
‘I should have seen through you.’
Matteo didn’t respond. He watched her from the small distance she’d carved out; saw the way her head was held straight, her shoulders squared, begrudgingly admiring her for the courage she demonstrated again and again.
‘I’m so angry with myself. And with you!’ She spun around, forgetting how close he was. But there was nowhere else for her to go—her back was against the wall, literally and figuratively. ‘Did you really think I’d be so stupid in love with you, or so sex-fogged, that I’d forget to engage my brain when I signed important legal papers?’ She rolled her eyes. ‘I mightn’t be any good at spotting cheating bastards, but I’ve been taught to read contracts with care before adding my signature. Even contracts prepared by my “loving” husband.’ She spat the last words as a final insult. Her breath was tearing from her chest, making her whole body shift with each intake.
‘But I will give you the hotel,’ she said after a long, tense silence. ‘I will give it to you without strings, right now. If you accept this marriage is over.’
His laugh was a dry sound. ‘No.’
‘You want the hotel...’
‘You think I want it more than my child?’ His eyes narrowed and there was a dangerous anger in them.
‘Yes,’ she said simply, her expression filled with the sadness of that truth. ‘I think you are obsessed with getting the hotel back. To the exclusion of any kind of human decency or behaviour.’
His eyes darkened with intensity. ‘The rules of the game have changed now.’
‘Game?’ she returned with undisguised fury. How could he refer to their marriage in such a cavalier fashion? She had loved him and he’d broken her heart. Anger bubbled through her.
He spoke as though she hadn’t. ‘My child will inherit the hotel regardless of what happens to you and me. It will be back in the Vin Santo family one way or another. That is, and always has been, my primary concern.’ His eyes narrowed. ‘And, in the meantime, we are married. What’s yours is mine, no?’
She ground her teeth together. ‘You’ve just got everything worked out, haven’t you?’
‘Not quite everything,’ he said thoughtfully, taking a step towards her. A step that spoke of danger, desire and needs that had long been denied. ‘I still don’t know how we’re going to raise a child together when we cannot be in the same room without arguing at the top of our lungs.’
Colour filled Skye’s cheeks. ‘I’ll do whatever I need to make sure my child is happy. Even pretending to put up with you.’
His laugh sent shivers of danger dancing down her spine. ‘And will you put up with this...?’ he asked, taking another step towards her and brushing his lips over hers so that he felt the shiver that made her whole body tremble.
‘Will you make the most of our marriage by enjoying the one thing that is good about it?’ he prompted, sliding his fingers under the waistband of her shirt, connecting with the softness of her flesh.
A husky moan dropped from Skye’s mouth. She closed her eyes, unwilling to see the triumph in Matteo’s expression that she knew would be there. If she were to admit how badly she wanted this, and him, he would have every right to gloat.
How could she still desire him, even after what he’d done? He’d proven himself to be the worst kind of bastard, yet her body, her treacherous, hungry, body was his for a song.
‘No,’ she heard herself say, and practically groaned at the word. ‘And I know you won’t force me.’
He froze, every line in his body like iron. ‘Force you? Dio!’ He stepped back and it was as though ice water had doused them both. ‘Of course I am not going to force you. What the hell do you think I am? A savage?’
